Senators John Kerry, Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have joined the interest group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) in questioning the levels of lead in lipstick. The senators have urged the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test a wide range of lipstick brands for the presence of lead, to publicly report their results, and to limit lead in lipstick and other cosmetics products to the lowest detectable levels found in laboratory tests.

The CSC announced last month that it had tested 33 lipstick brands for lead, and that 60% of those tested showed a level ranging from 0.02 to 0.65 parts per million. The group noted that 1/3 of the lipsticks tested exceeded the FDA lead limit for candy and noted that lipstick is ingested in a similar way to candy.

The FDA has said that it will look into the levels of lead in lipstick. In Kerry's press release, he states, "Dangerous levels of lead in lipstick is the latest reminder that insufficient safeguards at the FDA pose real risks to everyday Americans. "There has been a continuous flow of unnerving news in recent months about the FDA's clear lack of oversight and inspection. Washington is gambling with our health, whether we are aware of it or not. It's time for the FDA to start taking this responsibility more seriously." For more inforamation, visit http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=287801.